This is My Home
by BlueSkies23
Summary: What if, instead of killing the armed guard in Egypt, Moses got in the way of the whip and was injured? What if this led to a conversation with Rameses about who he really is? Slightly AU.


**This takes place right before Moses kills the armed guard and flees Egypt.**

**(for anyone who is reading my other stories, I'm very sorry I haven't updated them in so long! I lost all of my outlines over the summer, and I started AP classes this year and have had very little time to write. Hopefully I'll be back to writing within the next month or so!)**

Rameses continued talking even though Moses was already running from him, his feet nearly falling out from underneath him as he desperately tried to stop the guard from whipping the old man.

"Stop! Please, stop hurting him!" Moses cried out desperately, climbing the wooden structure. He pushed through Miriam and barreled into the guard, almost pushing him off of the edge, but instead misdirecting the aim of his whip, Moses' own wig falling off of his head and plummeting down to the sand below.

A sudden spasm of pain flared up within Moses as the whip landed on his own back. The guard continued with a few more lashes, Moses' true hair making the guard believe he was whipping another slave. He cried out in pain, but still held the old man in his grasp, refusing to let him receive the lashes.

"_Moses!_" Rameses screamed from nearby. He pushed himself through the crowd that was now gathering. As the guard lifted his arm back to prepare for another lashing, Rameses caught his arm and held it firmly.

"What do you think you're doing, striking the Prince of Egypt?" Rameses nearly spit in the guards' face, his anger taking control of his voice.

The guard looked down at Moses, seeing his face slowly peek out in surprise for not being lashed again, and noticed the similarities between Moses and the Prince of Egypt he knew with the wig. He gasped and dropped his whip, bowing down to Rameses and Moses. "I am so sorry, my lords, I did not know, I thought-" He cut off his sentence there, not wanting to say aloud that he believed the Pharoah's son to be a slave.

A groan from Moses brought Rameses to the ground. "Moses!" he cried, untangling his bleeding body from the old mans'. The man stepped back in shock, the rest of the crowd looking at the ugly cuts on their Princes' body. A total of six lashes were on his back, the skin torn and bleeding from various places.

"Moses, are you alright?" Rameses asked as he held Moses in his arms, being careful not to touch Moses' wounds.

"I…I will be fine." Moses replied, his eyes still unfocused and glassy with pain. He hissed as one of Rameses' stray fingers brushed against one of his wounds.

Rameses gasped, suddenly standing and taking Moses with him, supporting him at the waist instead of carrying him. "Can you walk? We need to get you to a healer." He asked, and Moses nodded half-heartedly.

As soon as Moses took a step, however, he began to falter, and nearly fell, his entire weight upon Rameses. "You there!" Rameses called to Miriam. "Help me take him to the healer."

Miriam nodded eagerly and raced over to help her brother. She supported his other side, her arm just below the cuts. Moses' arms draped over Rameses and Miriams' shoulders. Miriam tried to give Moses a weak smile, which he attempted to return, but it quickly turned into a grimace as he took a step forward, the muscles in his back screaming in protest.

After several steps, Moses was unsure if he would be able to make it the whole way. Rameses looked at him uncertainly, and suddenly called to a nearby guard. "Get a carriage ready! Moses will be unable to walk the whole distance."

The guard nodded, and within moments, a carriage was ready and waiting at the bottom of the wooden structure. They continually walked down the slanted form of the stairs, Moses stumbling every few steps. As soon as they reached the bottom, Moses lurched forward and fell unconscious, his entire weight upon Miriam and Rameses.

"Moses? Moses!" Rameses cried out desperately, terrified that he had lost his younger brother.

"I-It's alright, I think he just lost consciousness." Miriam consoled him, squeezing Moses' arm as she lowered him into the carriage face down, his wounds once again visible to all. Both Miriam and Rameses cringed when they saw the extent of the damage once more.

Rameses climbed into the carriage and waved at the driver as a signal to go. As an after-thought, he turned back at Miriam and smiled consolingly at her, waving lightly as well.

Miriam's smile stayed on her face until Rameses' carriage had completely left, and that was when her façade cracked and she fell upon the sandy ground, producing heart-wrenching sobs.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Rameses paced outside of the healers' office whilst waiting for news upon Moses' recovery. His sandals still covered in sand, he spread it across the room with every step. As every second passed, he hoped that the doors would open and a fully healed Moses would come out. However, reality was much unlike what he envisioned.

After many moments, a healer allowed him into the room, and the first sight was his brother sprawled across a bed looking paler than ever. His skin was slightly flushed, and bandages wrapped around his chest and, more importantly, his back, where the wounds originated.

Rameses raced over to his brother, taking his hand into his own. "Moses?" he whispered, his heart fluttering slightly. "Moses, are you awake?"

A light groan came from his brother, and Rameses sighed in relief. He squeezed his brother's hand and sat down next to him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been whipped half a dozen times." Moses replied sarcastically, his eyes fluttering open. His wig was still lost, and his hair remained his original shade. His royal Egyptian garments had been traded out for just light cotton boxers to allow more mobility and comfort without the metal clanging around on his arms. The only thing that remained was the ring his brother had given him on his finger.

Rameses chuckled lightly before his face turned dark again. "Moses…why did you do that? You scared me half to death."

Moses sighed. "Rameses…the slaves are _people. _I only just realized how cruel we have been to them recently, due to an…unexpected revelation."

Rameses frowned. "What kind of 'revelation' was this?" he asked, leaning in to Moses' face more.

"I…Rameses, I'm not who you think I am." Moses whispered, suddenly burying his face into his hands. A light sob came from him before he managed to compose himself. "I am not your brother."

Several thoughts flashed through Rameses' mind. Moses was his brother, of course he was! How could he not be? When mother first showed Moses to him, he looked practically newborn, he must have…but then he paused and truly looked at Moses. How the guard whipped him only after his wig came off and his true hair was revealed. How the guard's words stayed unspoken but were still heard; "I thought he was a Hebrew". How their skin was a slightly different shade.

"No…no, tell me it isn't true." Rameses pleaded.

Moses shook his head. "But it is true. Do you remember the slave girl who helped carry me today? Her name is Miriam. She's my sister.

"Moses, stop this. This isn't…this just isn't _possible._" Rameses leapt up from where he sat and began pacing again.

"That's what I believed at first as well, brother." Moses replied, looking down at his bruised and cut hands. "But…it's beginning to sink in now. I am Hebrew. I was found in the river that leads up to our home, our mother found me and claimed me as her own."

Rameses sat again and buried his face in his hands. "Moses…I…I had no idea…" he whispered.

"Neither did I." Moses said. "But look at where we are now. We're still brothers. We're still together, even if I have to get whipped every time I want to stop a beating."

"No." Rameses insisted. "You will not be beaten again. I will convince father to make the slaves' punishments much more amicable. And you will certainly never get near another whip in your life."

Moses nodded. Truthfully, he wanted the slaves to be let go, but baby steps, he decided, were much better than nothing. He still had no idea of the terrors he had yet to face; he would still leave Egypt, he would still return and be forced to fight his own brother, yet at this moment the hardships could be delayed. Rameses moved closed to Moses and held his hand firmly, and Moses thought to himself, 'This is my home'.

**Sorry if the ending was a bit rushed! I couldn't quite figure out how to end it, so I decided a little embrace would be nice to leave off on. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more "Prince of Egypt" fanfictions, as well as get back to my old fanfictions soon as well.**


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